The Abduction
by a-mild-looking-sky
Summary: Kane's curiosity will lead him into trouble one day. [A story following Kane's tragic journey with the Nostromo]
1. Chapter 1 - Amniotic

**The Abduction**

 **A/N: After I enjoyed writing my other Alien fanfiction (Succubus), I wanted to try my hand at another, longer fanfiction. I'm aiming for this one to be about 6-7 parts, detailing the (short) existence of one of my favourites, Gilbert Kane, in Alien. Most of it will be based on the movie, some parts on the Alan Dean Foster novelisation, and other bits made up by me ~ This is only a short opening chapter, but the other sections will be longer :) Feedback is always appreciated c:**

 **PART 1 - AMNIOTIC**

With a slow, mechanical exhale, the tops rose off the cryosleep pods. Pure, white light flooded the sterile room. Screens and consoles flickered and blinked to life. One by one, the children were delivered into the world by their mother.

Kane was the first. Leisurely, he eased open his eyes. For a few moments, his body felt like a foreign object. He squinted down at his bare limbs and wondered what he was looking at. Like operating a puppet, he raised his right arm and held a hand up to the strange glow about him. Thick, viscous fluid dripped down his pale skin. It was cold - getting colder as his senses woke up.

Something was pressing against his neck. He reached up and pulled off a sensor attached to his pulse point. Its lethargic beats were beginning to quicken. With each rise and fall of his chest, deadened humming sounds faded in and out of his ears. An almost pleasant, airy dizziness shrouded his detached mind.

Inch by inch, he felt along the rim of the tube. His hands slipped along the sides, investigating the bed he had awoken in. It took a few tries but gradually, he managed to pull his weightless body from the cocoon. Glowing sparks drifted behind his eyelids at the movement - the first in he didn't know how long. He watched them until they disappeared, timing his breathing with their soft throbbing. The relaxing aura soothed him. He had to resist the urge to sink back into the comfort of the incubator.

Slowly, he shifted to place his feet on the ground. Chills caressed his every bone. The preservative liquid still swaddled him in a wet embrace, covering every inch of skin. He made a half-hearted attempt at wiping it away, and found a towel left on the floor. He wrapped it gratefully around his naked shoulders. It thawed him a little but more pleasant than that, traces of a warm, gentle breeze were beginning to breathe into the room.

Lured by its promise of comfort, he went to stand, only for his legs to wobble and buckle beneath him. He fell to his knees, shivering. Like a child, he crawled towards the open door. His hazy vision was beginning to clear, blurry forms taking firmer shape. He kept looking forward, down the curving, white corridor into the distance. In some way, he knew he had been here before - before the void of his dreamless, amniotic slumber.

On shaking limbs, he pulled himself up, leaning against the wall. Behind him, the others were stirring. Bits and pieces of fractured memories drifted into his mind, but not enough to ground him. All he wanted was to be warm.

Without a glance back, he left the aseptic bubble of the cryosleep chamber and entered the long hallway into the unknown.

(tbc)


	2. Chapter 2 - Mother

**A/N: So this chapter is a little longer than the first 'Intro' one, and pretty closely follows the events in the movie - I used Alan Dean Foster's novelisation and Walter Hill/David Giler's screenplay as reference as well, which were invaluable for the technological side of things on the _Nostromo_! Again, feedback always appreciated :)**

 **PART 2 - MOTHER**

"That doesn't look like our system to me."

Kane peered up at the row of screens overhead. Specks of stars dotted the black images on the consoles. Cross-hatched lines and oscillating numbers indicated the ship's journey through them. But it was not the interstellar landscape he expected to see. There were too many missing pieces.

"Where's earth?" he asked. "Sol?"

"I'm searching. Maybe our orientation is wrong." Across from him, Lambert tapped at a console of interlinked keyboards. The geometric forms on the computers shifted like a bizarre kaleidoscope. Kane tried to find something familiar in them, but could not. It was all out of place. Each shape was the wrong size, the wrong colour, or the wrong dimension for the Sol system. Not to mention the absence of the sun itself - something that should have been glaringly obvious in their charts.

"That's definitely not our system," Ripley said from behind them.

"Well, what the hell did Mother wake us up for?" Parker asked.

"Wait, wait -" Kane urged. "Run a scan. It might be Centauri. We could just be facing the wrong way."

They waited as cameras dotted along the vessel's hull stirred and turned their eyes into deep space. Snatches of data began to run across Kane's screen. It didn't look hopeful.

"Nothing?" Ripley questioned.

"Well, there is something," Lambert replied. "One system here -" She pointed to a milky circle displayed upon the the central console, orbited by a chain of flickering lights.

"But it's not Sol."

"No."

"Contact traffic control," Kane ordered. "It may be a computer error. If Sol is nearby, we'll receive a response."

Lambert flicked switches and pressed buttons. "This is the commercial tug, Nostromo, registration number 180-246, en route to earth, carrying a bulk cargo of crude petroleum and refinery. Calling Antarctic traffic control. Do you read me? Over."

Nothing but the lonely sound of the void replied. Lambert repeated herself, then again, and again. On her fourth attempt, she iterated a distress call and for a moment, an inextricable shiver ran down Kane's spine, as if fate had just been tempted. He shook it off. "Keep trying," he said. "Mother would not wake us in uncharted territory. Find out where we are."

Another tense wait followed. Silence prevailed in the claustrophobic bridge, apart from Lambert's fingers dancing across keys. Jones curled around Kane's feet and he gave him an absent-minded stroke between the ears. Realising he would not receive any more attention, the cat settled himself in front of the huge windows. Kane followed his gaze into the vast gulf. Their seven-strong crew might be the only living beings for light years.

"I've found it." Lambert's voice broke into his thoughts. "Here - near Zeta II Reticula. We're not even close to the outer populated ring."

"Damn -" Parker remarked.

"So Mother has guided us into the middle of nowhere," Ripley sighed.

"It looks that way."

* * *

"As you've probably already gathered, we're nowhere near home yet."

The crew had assembled in the mess hall, huddled around the circular table and waiting impatiently for answers. Captain Dallas stood over them.

"Yeah, we gathered that," Brett commented quietly. Dallas shot him a look.

"In certain circumstances," he continued. "Mother is programmed to wake us up before arriving at earth. It's not something done lightly -"

"I'll say -"

"But those certain circumstances have arisen. It appears Mother has detected a kind of transmission."

Mumbles rippled through the group. The only one unconcerned was Jones, batting at the earphones of a discarded headset in the corner. Kane was the first to speak up. "What sort of transmission?"

"She's determined it's an acoustic beacon, repeating every twelve seconds. A distress signal. Coming from the unknown system up ahead. But beyond that, she can't decipher much more."

"Human?" Lambert asked.

"It doesn't appear so. It's not what you'd call standard."

Disconcerted silence met this statement. Kane frowned. If Mother was having trouble decoding the signal, then it must have been out of the ordinary. An air of unease settled over the room, broken only when Brett complained again. "And what do you want us to do about it?"

"Yeah, I hate to say it, but we're a commercial tug, not a rescue ship," Parker concurred with his assistant. "Unless there's some bonus money involved, of course -"

Dallas sighed. Ash responded before he could, with his characteristic precision. "If you read your contract, you'd remember this section: 'Any systematic transmission indicating possible intelligent origin must be investigated.' At full penalty of pay."

"He's right," Dallas conceded.

"Can we hear the transmission?" Despite his confusion, Kane's curiosity was piqued. Already, he was thinking of the journey to locate the beacon's source in the strange system.

Dallas nodded. "I think that's best."

* * *

An unearthly, garbled string of sounds filled the dark bridge. There was no escape from it - it contaminated every inch of air space, seeping around the bewildered crew. There was something eerily alluring about it; a tantalising glimpse into the unknown. It lasted for only twelve seconds but it felt like the longest twelve seconds of Kane's life. Shivers ran down his spine.

"Christ," he commented when it was over.

"That doesn't sound like any transmission I've heard," Ripley said.

"It appears Mother agrees," Dallas replied. "Lambert, can you home in on it for us?"

Lambert, who had been sitting, silent and pale, at her station, adjusted dials and nodded. "Got it."

"Show me."

A screen flickered to life above them and displayed a bright, pulsing dot. "It's a planetoid not far from where we are," Lambert explained. "It's small - twelve hundred kilometres at most. Two-hour rotation. Point eight six gravity."

Kane looked at Dallas, but Ash took the words out of his mouth. "You can walk on it," he stated.

"If conditions are right, I volunteer to be in the first expedition party," Kane said. The transmission had spooked him but more than that, he wanted to know what its origin was. His head told him to stay cautious, but his heart demanded that he would be the first to find the beacon. Not for any reasons of glory, but just to satisfy his curious mind. All the problems of his past life had come to one simple fact - he would not turn his back on a chance for adventure.

Dallas eyed him. "If conditions are right," he granted, then turned back to the others. "Well, I think it's clear we're going in. We'll disconnect the refinery and approach the planetoid. Then we can find a place to land."

* * *

"Nine hundred metres and dropping!"

Ripley's voice echoed through the bridge, giving rapid updates on their proximity to the planet's surface. Her numbers went down quickly and smoothly. Like second nature, the crew performed the necessary landing procedures. Computers acted like an artificial spider's web, interconnecting everything and everyone.

"Five hundred metres! Four! Three!"

Kane glanced between his console and the front windows. There wasn't much to see yet. A savage storm was raging outside the ship, blowing heavy mists around it. So far, though, nothing had disrupted their descent. Ripley reached one hundred and kept going. Ninety, eighty, seventy.

"Struts down," Dallas commanded when they were low enough. Kane obeyed and the Nostromo's thick legs extended from its body. A tremendous crash ripped through the vessel. In a single second, the bridge was thrown into chaos. An alarm started screaming. Gauges sky-rocketed up and down. Flames and smoke burst from a monitor. Darkness consumed the whole area as the lights sputtered and failed.

Kane scrambled to put out the fire. Lambert, Ripley, Dallas and Ash leapt up to try and calm the ship down. "What the hell was that? Someone give me a clear answer!" Dallas shouted above the noise.

"Why hasn't the secondary generator come on?" Kane heard Lambert ask, somewhere in the blackness.

That wasn't the answer Dallas wanted. "Get Parker and Brett on the line."

With the fire out and the alarm no longer wailing, Kane fumbled his way back to his station. He felt blindly along it for the emergency light bar. Ripley and Lambert located their own. "Parker," Kane said over the intercom. "What's our situation?"

A furious hissing and buzzing clouded Parker's first response. "Again?" Kane urged.

"Dust caught in the engines," he heard this time. "Got an electrical fire back here. Pretty big."

"Goddamn it," Dallas muttered behind Kane.

"Think we burnt out a whole cell," Brett commented. "It's bad down here -"

"I hope to hell that bang was only in their department," Dallas said to the anxious crew on the bridge. "Tell me if our hull has been breached."

"It doesn't appear so," Ripley said after a scan of her monitors, scrolling through the ship's diagnostics. "Pressure is still stable in all areas. No air is contaminated."

"Good, good. How are we looking from the outside?"

Kane tried to power up the exterior screens, but there was nothing. "We need the secondary generator for that," he confirmed. "Can't see where we are at the minute."

"Switch on the audio sensors. They should work with what little energy we've got."

Kane did as told. An eerie whirring and clicking bled through the speakers. Sat in the near-darkness, surrounded by the high-pitched, grating cacophony of the storm did nothing for their nerves. The shadows corralled them in, making the cramped space seem even more claustrophobic. Helpless with nothing more to do at present, a tense silence fell between them. Kane looked again out the front windows. A deep, snarling maelstrom assaulted the vessel. All he could see were the fluctuating, savage streaks of the fogs as they swirled past.

He drummed his fingers impatiently against his knee. There were not moving for now. It appeared Mother didn't want them to play outside yet.

* * *

 **(tbc)**

 **A/N: Next chapter is where it will really take off, if you pardon the pun ~**


	3. Chapter 3 - The Womb

**Warning for this chapter:** True to Ridley Scott and Dan O'Bannon's discussions of the movie and HR Giger's sexual designs, the alien attack at the end of this chapter is reminiscent of (and described like) a rape/sexual assault.

 **PART 3 - THE WOMB**

The hostile atmosphere hung around them like a heavy, stifling blanket. Overhead, a weak sun struggled through the dense fog. The storm still whipped them with its thick tendrils, hurling fragments of dust and rock into the air. Apparently, it was morning, but Kane would not have known that, had Ash not told them.

The planet they had descended onto looked like a primordial wasteland. Jagged, blackened rocks blocked the horizon on all angles, turning the vista into a uneven pattern of sharp peaks. Frequently, they had had to adjust their path to manoeuvre around a huge form in their way. Dormant, dark lava flows wound beneath their feet, twisting and writhing over the ground. Everything appeared the same - a bleak desert abandoned for god knew how long.

They still followed the signal. It called from somewhere deep in the interior of the planet, luring them onwards. Every time Kane glanced at Lambert, she was staring at the sensor, as if it was the only thing keeping her grounded. It was obvious she would have rather been back on the ship. When Dallas had announced their on-foot expedition would go ahead while the Nostromo was being repaired, she had looked as though she wanted to sink into her chair. Kane, meanwhile, sensed the familiar tug of curiosity. He stayed in the lead, burrowing on through the wicked weather.

There was a rise ahead. Kane scrambled up the jumbled rocks. In the heavy spacesuit, he felt like a child learning to walk again. Panting with the exertion, he dragged himself to the top.

"My god."

At the peak of the hill, Kane froze. A valley had opened up before him. It was the same monochrome, tortured landscape as before, but from one startling addition. Nestled in the decrepit punchbowl was a ship. At first, Kane could not believe it. But there was no doubt that that was what it was. It was huge, dominating the entire vista. Shaped a little like a crescent moon, it lay on its back, the legs of its body splayed in the air. From a distance, it almost appeared to be constructed out of a living material - as if a dark skin was stretched over it. Kane shivered.

"Dallas - Lambert -" he spoke over the headset. His voice trembled. "You have to come and see this."

The other two crew members joined him. Lambert's complaints about climbing the hill came to a halt as soon as she saw the ship. "Jesus," Dallas commented, and then - "Ash, are you getting this?"

The science officer, watching them on their video feeds back at the Nostromo, came through the radio. "I see it, Dallas."

"That's where our transmission is coming from. We'll, um, we'll have to go in."

"I read you. Be cautious."

Ash went silent. But the explorers were too preoccupied with the alien discovery to deal with the break in their radio link. Both allured by and fearful of the huge structure, they entered the valley. Kane led them between the ship's open legs. At their crux was a pattern of gaping teardrop-shaped holes. No doubt this was the way in.

Kane tried to peer inside, but the space beyond was shrouded in inky darkness. Lambert and Dallas caught up with him. "Well, that looks friendly -" Lambert muttered.

"Come on, give me a boost," Kane urged. "We've got to go in."

Even through the hazy visor, Kane could see Dallas' disapproving glare. "Goddamn it, Kane, your enthusiasm is going to get you in trouble one day," he sighed. But he still came forward and helped the executive officer up and into the mouth of the vessel.

Blue light from his torch pierced the shadows. A curving tunnel stretched in front of him. It was lined with ribbed, black walls - unlike anything he had ever seen before. They were not metal, they didn't even appear to be mechanical. Like the hull of the ship, they almost seemed alive, or organic. Unable to stop himself, he reached out to feel them. Slick juice dribbled onto his hand. The entire chamber was wet and shining.

"Kane, don't touch anything," Dallas ordered over his headset. "We have no idea about this place."

"It's so strange -" he said. "Like it's natural, not man made."

"I think it's safe to say that it's not 'man' made," Lambert remarked. She sighed. "This place gives me the creeps. Let's get this over and done with."

They penetrated deeper into the innards of the ship, winding through the tight, dripping hallways. Kane had almost forgotten about the transmission. He was enticed by the otherworldly seduction of the vessel, leading him further and further into its embrace. It was simultaneously horrifying and beautiful.

Finally, the labyrinth began to open up. Overhead, the ceiling got higher. Kane had the feeling that they had just entered another chamber, and were getting closer to the heart of the thing. Still in the lead, he called to the others.

"There's something different down here," he said. "There's a wall - I might be able to get up it, see what's on the other side."

"Be careful." Dallas helped him up. He scrambled onto a large, wide platform. He was right - they must have reached some important room of the ship. Bone-like ridges protruded from the glossy walls. They reached up and up, forming a huge, dark cavern. But Kane was no longer drawn to the alien architecture surrounding him.

In the centre of the disc he had climbed onto, a form emerged from the shadows. A huge, thick metallic shaft was angled up into the air. It ended in a long pod, which was occupied by... something. At first, Kane thought it was a sculpture. It was utterly frozen, staring into the bottom of the tube like it was observing the stars through a telescope. It appeared to be growing out of its chair, morphing with the otherworldly decor. He approached carefully. A sightless, milky eye stared at him out of the side of this thing's head. It reminded him curiously of an elephant, with a slender trunk running from its skull down its torso. Bleached ribs stuck out of wasted yellow muscle.

"What the hell is that?" Lambert came up, staring. "Is it - alive?"

"Looks like it died a long time ago," Dallas said. "Seems to be fossilised in some way."

"What's it doing here?"

"How the hell am I supposed to know?"

"Probably some unlucky crew member," Kane commented.

"I wonder what happened to the rest of them." Lambert glanced around the cave, as if looking for other creatures hidden in the walls. Even in her heavy suit, she shuddered. "This place really does give me the creeps."

She stayed still as Dallas and Kane began to roam around the dead specimen. But soon, something else caught Kane's eye. He manoeuvred to the far side of the platform. A hole had been torn in the ground. Its dark, ragged maw led down into an obscure abyss. He crouched and peered inside. There was no way to tell how deep it was, or where it went. Unless -

Behind him, Dallas was still absorbed by the alien figure. He was leaning close, looking at the serpentine snout attaching to its chest. "This thing looks like it's exploded from the inside," he muttered. "The ribcage has been distorted outwards."

"Dallas, Lambert, come here," Kane interrupted.

"What is it?" Dallas approached and peered over Kane's shoulder. He paused at the sight.

"Where do you think it leads?"

"Beats me."

"What would make a hole like that? What do you think - some kind of rudimentary mining shaft? Something fell through?"

"I don't like it." Lambert appeared at Kane's other side, looking down into the dark hole. Kane sighed.

"You don't like anything," he commented, then stood. Dallas watched him warily, as if knowing what the next question would be. The captain interrupted him before he could voice it.

"Kane, the transmission signal is not coming from down there."

Kane was prepared for that response. "There might be another way through to it. Who knows what might be there?"

"That's what concerns me."

"I can take care of myself, Dallas. If there's nothing there, I'll come straight back."

Dallas still did not look convinced. "I don't know -"

"I will not touch a thing. Come on, Dallas, you know - you know the trouble I've had in the past. I don't like leaving opportunities like this." Kane fixed Dallas with what he hoped was an imploring gaze. He didn't enjoy bringing up his previous problems - the medicinal and alcoholic issues, how they had brought him close to death. But they had instilled in him a desire to not miss anything. Dallas knew that.

With a sigh, the captain relented. "Fine. But you are to stay in contact with us at all times. I want to know exactly what you're doing down there. And, under no circumstances, detach from the wire."

With Dallas' permission granted, they set up the winch system transported from the ship. Kane kept glancing down the hole, wondering how deep it stretched. His curiosity dominated any traces of fear. When he was hooked up to the mechanism, he could already feel the adrenaline building within him.

"Remember your orders," Dallas said simply. Kane gave him a comforting grin.

"I will be careful," he promised.

Then he descended into the blackness.

At first, it was the same as above. Corrugated, damp walls surrounded him. Through the strange tube he fell. There was no way to tell how fast he was going - the darkness remained constant, almost absolute but from the cloudy light of his torch. He glanced upwards yet the shadows had drawn a veil over the entrance. He was alone.

Gradually, the temperature began to rise. It started off something like a balmy breeze, then grew into a sweltering, sticky heat. The weighty spacesuit made it worse. Sweat gathered on his brow. But, in a bizarre way, it was a comforting sort of warmth - a shelter from the vicious weather outside and the coldness of the upper chambers.

He carried on down. Dallas' voice came over his headset. "How are you doing, Kane?"

"Fine. Not there yet. It's like the goddamn tropics in here."

"Tell us when you reach the ground."

"I will, I will. Wait a second. I see..."

Kane's comments faded away. Beneath him, the space was opening up. A weird cerulean glow came from below. The tunnel stopped. And suddenly, everything changed.

A massive chamber spread out on all sides - so gargantuan he could not see the end of it. It reached into the hidden distance, curving around smooth corners. A blue mist rippled over the ground. Within the hazy sea, he could make out dark objects, lined neatly and uniformly throughout the hall. His breath stuck in his throat.

"Jesus Christ."

"What is it?" Dallas asked.

"Don't know yet. Some type of chamber, full of - I don't know."

Kane finally touched the ground. He felt tiny in the midst of this mammoth cavern. He tried to make a guess at what it might have been used for, although, if he was honest, it was hard to remember that this was still part of the derelict ship. It seemed like a naturally formed cave. But not resembling any cave he had ever seen before.

The floor was uneven below his feet. Carefully, he made his way forward over a narrow catwalk. The heat remained high, stifling him through the suit. The whole chamber was warm, wet and heavy. He blinked the perspiration from his eyes and swung his light back and forth. It reflected off the strange fog and the leathery things beneath. The nearer he got, the more they looked like eggs, planted in the ground. Shivers ran down his spine, despite the temperature.

"What are you seeing, Kane?" Dallas was back.

Kane struggled to find the words. "I can't say for sure yet. I would guess it's some type of storage hold, but for what? There are weird objects over the floor, covered by a blue mist. It seems to react when broken."

Slowly, Kane bent down and reached out a hand. The haze enveloped it and chillingly, he felt as though he'd passed some sacred boundary. He leant forward, enchanted by the colourful, otherworldly swirls. In his haste, he overbalanced. Before he could stop himself, he was slipping off of the platform. The floor was only a couple of feet below, but he hit it with a thud.

"Kane? Are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine. I slipped."

He started to get back to his feet and onto the catwalk again, then realised where he had fallen. The peculiar eggs surrounded him within touching distance. From down here, he could see how many there were - a whole pod of them, growing in this temperate, alien cocoon. He had the bizarre feeling that he had just returned to the womb.

Slowly, he raised his torch and roamed through the dark, ovoid maze. What looked like roots were attached to their bases. He stepped over them, trying not to trip again. He shone his light at every object he passed but they were all entirely enclosed. Dallas would reprimand him yet he had to know what was inside of them. Maybe if there was a broken one somewhere...

He found one with room to bend down next to. Gently, he set down his lamp, letting it illuminate the egg. It was large - possibly two or so feet tall, and wide enough that he would have struggled getting his arms around it. A smooth and slick, greyish skin covered it. On top ran a fleshy, swollen gash, splitting the peak in half. If anything, that was its entrance.

"It seems to be completely sealed," he muttered, half to himself.

"What was that?" Dallas asked.

"The egg - it's completely sealed."

"Kane, for god's sake..." Dallas breathed a frustrated sigh. "Be careful."

Slowly, Kane reached out. His hand trembled. Swallowing past the sudden dryness in his throat, he brushed his fingers across the seam. It was the lightest of touches at first - testing how sturdy it was, what it was made of. Even through the gloves, the material felt weird - rubbery and taut, but still somehow like flesh. He traced the rift, looking for a gap he could pull at.

A burst of air erupted from the side. As though he had been burned, Kane drew back. His heart skipped. Absent-mindedly, he reached for the gun holstered at his side, then halted. Something was changing with the egg. Its slit appeared to quiver. Moisture gathered about it, thick discharge dribbling from its crevice. In its belly, a form materialised.

"Wait a minute," Kane uttered, hearing how his voice shook. "There's movement."

Spindly limbs kicked in the depths of the ovum. Whatever it was inside writhed and convulsed. Kane's stomach twisted. "There seems to be life," he whispered reverently, hypnotised. "Organic life."

As he watched, enchanted by the alluring sight, the damp labia began to part. The flaps atop the egg pulled back with a wet hiss. Its mouth gaped widely. It was an invitation Kane could not resist. Breath steaming the glass of his visor, he leant forward.

Within the maw, a placenta-like membrane throbbed. He fantasised about what this bizarre discovery could be - what it could lead to. If every egg in this chamber contained the same specimen... They could have stumbled across a marvel of science.

Careful now not to damage anything, he bent over the open bud. The material inside was so slick that for a second, he saw himself peering in, wide-eyed, awestruck. His hands itched to reach out, to peel back the gelatinous layer and see what lurked beneath. If he could just get a little closer -

A sudden scream filled the air.

Something erupted from the stomach of the egg.

Kane did not have time to react before a form smacked against the front of his visor. In surprise, he lost balance, falling flat on his back.

A mass of red, dripping muscle sucked at the glass inches from his face. Long, spidery limbs groped at the helmet, kicking, trying to break through. Sharp, violent panic gripped Kane. He squirmed, attempting to shake the thing off, before wrapping his hands about it and pulling with all his might. It refused to let go. A horrible sizzling sound reverberated through the plate. The wet gash running through the creature's centre flowered open. A thick, rounded tube poked out. It thrusted forcefully at the visor, smearing it with viscous liquid.

Kane's bones turned to water. He sobbed, doing everything to tug his assailant away. But, to his horror, the surface separating them was beginning to wither. The animal was searing through, melting his only defence.

With a final hiss, the alien dropped in. He wanted to yell, but he desperately closed his mouth. The moist sinew attached to his face, legs spreading and wrapping tightly about his skull. A long tail whipped out and lassoed his neck. Muffled, he moaned for aid and tore at the organism's rough hide. "Kane, are you alright, what's happening?" Dallas' voice resounded in his ears.

Help me, help me, oh god, please help me...

He groaned again, but the sound was cut short by the creature's tail tightening about his throat. He choked. Stars burst in front of his eyes. He was already running out of air.

"Kane? Kane?"

The thing molested him without mercy. Its hard shaft assaulted his mouth, kissing and leaking all over his lips. Dallas and Lambert would be down soon. They would rescue him. But sparks were dancing in front of him. His lungs burned. His throat convulsed as the organism squeezed. It forced him down every time he tried to move.

They wouldn't reach him in time. He was going to die, he was going to die...

"Kane, answer me, goddamn you."

Kane tried to respond, but the strength was leaving his body. He went to grab a hold of the tail, yet his fingers would not work. His hands dropped to his sides. Numbness stretched up from his legs to his torso. Even his hammering heart seemed to slow down.

His mind wailed at him to keep resisting. His limbs would not obey. The thing took advantage of his weakness. It abused his lips, dribbling its discharge onto his tongue. Kane's chest fluttered. Blackness crept at the edge of his vision. No air, no air, no air...

The tail tightened once more. Kane's head throbbed. His eyes slid shut.

Starving for oxygen, his mouth dropped open. In a second, the creature pushed itself inside. A pulsing, heavy shaft hit the back of his throat. Kane gagged on its girth, but could do no more. He fell back and submitted. Quivering and trembling, the alien dominated him. The last thing he was aware of was its phallic tube winding down into his oesophagus.

Then darkness consumed him.

(tbc)

* * *

 **A/N:** So, I'm sorry for the delay between chapters of this story but this fanfic is a bit like my baby at the moment and I want to make it as polished as possible! And I'm sorry also for the turmoil I put (and will continue to put) poor Kane through, I love him really xD Anyway, whether he would last so long before succumbing to the facehugger, I'm not sure, but I tried to incorporate aspects of the alien's biology, such as the sedative it uses on its victims, and, as the warning said at the start, some sexual implications in its methods. I hope you enjoyed this latest chapter, feedback is always appreciated :)


	4. Chapter 4 - Fertile

**PART 4 - FERTILE**

"What the hell is that on his face?"

"Is he going to be alright?"

"Can you get it off of him?"

"Why don't you just freeze him?"

Voices echoed somewhere in the void. Kane could hear them, but didn't even think of responding. He could not. It felt as though he had no control over his mouth. He had no control over any part of his body. It lay there, paralysed, useless. The only thing he was aware of was the constant pressure on his face and head, as if something was smothering him.

He had no idea if he was dead or dreaming. Possibly he was somewhere in between - some ethereal wasteland where he did not know what was real and what wasn't.

Occasionally, he would feel hands upon him. They would hold him down, sometimes paw and pull at his head. And then whatever was about his throat would squeeze. In this hazy, unstable world, he did not know what force wanted to harm him and what wanted to help him. He could do nothing but stay still and take it. At least it was warm - like a cocoon had been wrapped about him, enveloping his heavy, tired limbs. His mouth was full of something hot and moist and throbbing gently. A distant, half-formed thought told him that if he did not move or resist, it would not hurt him. So he rested lifelessly as it sat upon him and held on tight.

There was no way to tell how much time had passed. He passed between the shadows and weird hallucinations, each one centring around the constriction about his head and throat. Eventually though, it began to ease. When he next dreamt, the force around his neck had disappeared, and all that was left in his mouth was a dull soreness.

Slowly, the darkness cleared. He struggled to open his eyes. Fierce white light pierced them, streaming down from artificial lamps above. He tried to look around, but his body still would not obey. He felt awake - or rather, more than he had - yet his limbs disagreed. He could only shift one finger. There was a hard slab below him.

Beyond the uncomfortable brightness around his bed, there was absolute blackness. It was as though the coma had not entirely left him, creeping on the edges of his vision. He could do was peer into the unknown, wondering where he was.

He had thought he was alone. But soon, noises arose from the dark. They were too distant to distinguish at first, yet then they came closer, then closer. Kane attempted to sit up. His body again refused to do a thing.

Something moved in the inky shadows. A form crossed the boundary where the lamps' illumination fell.

Kane stared as a nameless thing of horror approached. Tall, blocking the light. Silent. The shade of a starless night, and just as frightening. Its long, eyeless head swivelled to watch him. Jaws dribbled, wetting the floor and then his hand and arm. Rows of sharp teeth glistened. The creature was too awful to believe it existed - an organism of perfect terror and dreadful grace. He could barely think to wonder what the hell it was. It loomed over him menacingly, its hot breath and sticky saliva streaming upon Kane's face.

But it did not attack him, not at first. It observed Kane like it knew him; like there was some otherworldly connection between them.

And then its tail, barbed and whipping as a snake might, curled into the air and onto his makeshift bed. Kane felt it caress his feet before sliding up and between his bare legs. He tried to struggle. But the nightmarish paralysis still clung on to him. He could only tremble, defenceless beneath this terrible creature. Its heaving, low growls filled the room. They were deafening - the only thing he could hear but from his thundering heart.

The alien's tail crept up his back, winding a deadly path. Or maybe it was inside of him, wriggling like a ravenous parasite. In his horror, he could not tell. The night-terror beast stood over him and watched, almost curious, waiting for something to happen. With every second, Kane tried to move and get away. But the tail kept writhing, writhing, writhing, pushing, pushing, pushing. Too late he realised what it was trying to do.

In his next quaking breath, the sharp point erupted through his chest. A shower of blood burst into his face. The alien leered at him, and he screamed and screamed. Pain, hot and wicked, seared through every inch of him. And still he screamed.

He did not stop even as he was wrenched from the dream. In blind panic, he sat bolt upright, a deep, rattling gasp coming from his lungs. Hands, horribly reminiscent of the ones in his imaginings, grabbed him. They held him as he shuddered and sobbed, keeping him steady. His chest throbbed in memory of the horrifying vision. He desperately felt for the gaping hole in it. But there was nothing. It had not been real. It had not been real.

The mantra repeated in his mind yet his body kept denying it. An awful, salty taste lingered in his mouth. His head pounded like it was being beaten. Every limb felt heavy and wounded. His stomach lurched. Before he could prevent it, he was vomiting wretchedly. A bowl from his unknown aide was thrust into his hands.

"Welcome back," a voice said calmly. Through weary, swollen eyes, he dared to glance up. He found himself in another hospital bay, perched on the edge of a bed in nothing but his underwear. Bright white lights did nothing for his pounding headache. They shone down on him like he was in an interrogation. But an interrogation for what? He could not remember a thing, apart from the vivid nightmare. All that remained was a sense of guilt and shame. And he could not even recall why that was.

It was like being born all over again. He was confused, and vulnerable, and afraid of - something.

A hazy figure stood across the swarming room. It was Ash. His cold, scrutinising eyes peered at him like he expected something to happen. Kane suddenly felt intensely aware that he was hardly wearing a shred of clothing. He shifted uncomfortably, before nausea distracted him. "How are you feeling?" Ash asked distantly.

A part of Kane, somewhere deep inside of him, wanted to laugh. He was vaguely tempted to respond sarcastically. But he did not have the strength. He shook his head weakly. "Horrible," he tried to say. Only a husky whisper escaped his sandpaper-sore throat. It was like something was attempting to tear it apart. "Horrible," he rasped again.

"Well, that's to be expected. You've been out for a little over 16 hours."

"What?" His shock came with a fit of painful coughing. He doubled over, wracked with the breathless discomfort. All of it centred on his chest. "What happened to me?" he grated when his air had returned.

Ash shook his head. "Not yet," he said. "Your state is still too tenuous. Right now, I need you to answer some routine questions for me. Tell me your name."

"Kane," he said, choosing to ignore Ash's bluntness. "Gilbert Ward Kane."

"Fine." Ash entered a satisfied tick on his electronic pad. "Now - where are we?"

Kane glanced around the room. He recognised it, and the hazy glimpse of the corridor outside the long windows, but almost as if from another life. He tried to think what existed beyond that hallway. It was a struggle. It came to him in bits and pieces, the sections of the jigsaw linking up at a worryingly slow pace. He felt like a wide-eyed, bewildered child trying to force it all together in the wrong places.

"Space," he replied eventually, before wincing at how stupid that answer sounded. "I mean - the USCSS Nostromo."

"Good." Ash nodded like a stern schoolmaster. "For what purpose?"

"What?"

"Why are we here?"

Another wave of confusion swept over Kane. He was tempted to shrug, and leave it at that. But he made an attempt. "Some kind of signal. That's all I can remember. Now - are you going to say what happened to me?"

"No." Ash put down his medical log. He offered Kane no sympathy, not even a pretence of it. "It is too soon. Your recall is competent, but it is not ideal. To overload you with sensitive information may do you more harm than good. Especially considering the nature of the information."

"That doesn't make me feel much better."

"I will only tell you that there was an incident on the planet you, Dallas and Lambert explored. It incapacitated you for a while."

The sick feeling returned in the pit of Kane's stomach. He swallowed heavily. "Am I okay now?"

"It would appear so."

"You're sure?"

"As sure as I can be."

Ash was not exactly allaying Kane's fears. But he could not argue with him, especially considering he didn't actually know what his fears were. A barrage of further questions span in his mind. Before he could interrogate Ash with them, though, the science officer spoke. "Do you want me to notify the rest of your recovery?" he asked. "They have been waiting for you to wake up."

It was hard to picture the others in the crew. A profound, bone-deep isolation sat upon Kane. He nodded quickly. He hoped he would receive more warmth from them than he had from Ash. "Yes, I think that would be good," he rasped.

Minutes later, he was surrounded by the rest. They smiled and clapped him on the back, grateful to see him conscious again, but there was no disguising their curiosity and... something else. It didn't take Kane long to see that they were wary of him. They stayed a few steps away from the bed, peering at him like he was some exotic creature in a zoo. He caught them glancing at each other every now and then. It did not help the anxiety still winding and twisting in his chest.

Still, he could not complain too much. He had returned from whatever unspeakable incident had occurred. And seeing his colleagues again unhinged some previously hidden memories. The vision of a black, wet tunnel, illuminated only by a blue light, flashed before his eyes. He was going down it, watching Dallas and Lambert's faces get further away from him. Below... What was below? Some type of cerulean, unworldly mist. What was underneath the mist?

"How do you feel?" Ripley's voice broke into his reveries. He blinked the images out of his eyes. It took a while for the question to register.

"Terrific," he wheezed at last. "Next silly question."

A ripple of quiet laughter. The atmosphere seemed to relax a little. "Do you remember anything?" Dallas asked.

"Not much. Darkness. Mist. Some awful dream about smothering."

"Smothering?" Lambert mused, as if that was important. Kane did not miss Ash's subtle glance at her.

He shrugged, trying to brush it off. He wanted to get out of this depressing hospital room. "Anyway, where are we going? What's happening?"

"We're going home," Ripley said breezily.

"Yep, back into the old freezerinos," Brett grinned.

It was the first bit of positive news Kane had heard. He smiled. Despite having only just woken up, the thought of returning to the hypersleep chambers was an encouraging one. But his stomach would not stop growling. There was something he had to do before they were put under. "I have to have something to eat first though," he said. "I'm starving."

"Sounds good to me," Parker smirked.

"Come on, I'll help you. You probably want to get into some warmer clothes." Kane was going to refuse the aid but as soon as he tried to stand, his legs buckled. Dallas caught him. Trailed by the rest, he hobbled out of the room. In the corridor, he glanced back through the large windows. Ash was still waiting in the infirmary, tidying something away. For a moment, he thought he caught a glimpse of it - some kind of alien spider with long, spindly legs and a winding tail. And then it was gone.

Kane hoped he had imagined it. But, still, as Dallas helped him along, he couldn't ignore a dull pounding in his chest, like a quiet, threatening omen.

(tbc)

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 **A/N: Well, sorry for the slight delay in updating, I've been writing loads for my Tumblr page recently! But, if I'm honest, this is one of my fave projects to work on at the moment. The next chapter will be the final one (I'm guessing you know what's coming to poor Kane) but I've got other ideas for fanfics set in this franchise as well ~ For this chapter, I based the dialogue on stuff from the film but with some changes and additional content to show Kane's perspective. anyway, thanks for the feedback so far, it's always appreciated!**


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